Police Service Commission Chairman Arase Frowns at Pre-Trial Detention

The chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Dr Solomon Arase, has said that the commission has set up a Compliance Monitoring Unit (CMU) to ensure that the rights of citizens are protected and that offending police officers are sanctioned for misconduct.

A statement by Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations, said the PSC chairman stated this when two delegations from the United States of America and the United Kingdom visited him.

According to him, Arase told the visitors that what Nigerians want is a responsible police force that respects the human rights of the citizenry.

He also told them that the PSC leadership and the authorities of the Nigeria Police are united in the fight to stamp out human rights abuses in the country.

The PSC chairman further assured his visitors that there would be no conflict between the commission and the Police Management on the operations of CMU.

He particularly frowned at pre-trial detentions by the Police, noting that the commission will no longer tolerate detentions beyond what the law provides for.

According to him, the commission wants to track complaints against the police, and any officer who has pending human rights cases will not be cleared for promotions or postings.

Responding, Dr Smith, the leader of the United States delegation, said they are in Nigeria to assist in strengthening the rule of law and especially the Police. He noted that PSC is a key stakeholder in their project to strengthen the rule of law in Nigeria and promised to work with the commission to achieve this.

Mr Grimson of the National Crime Agency of the British High Commission promised to partner with PSC in the training of the personnel of the Nigeria Police.

He spoke on intelligence sharing and proper investigation as a way to break down barriers between the Nigeria Police and other security agencies in the country.